


The Proposal

by NighttimeSabbatical



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Dezel attempts to Romance, F/M, and it goes about as well as you'd expect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 10:42:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17160524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NighttimeSabbatical/pseuds/NighttimeSabbatical
Summary: Dezel wants to ask Rose to marry him, but there's a slight problem: he has no idea how to actually do it.





	The Proposal

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Straya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Straya/gifts).



It wasn't out of the ordinary for men to pester Rose for a date, but that didn't mean Dezel didn't want to deck every fool who tried it.  
  
He stood by, arms folded across his chest. In the past Rose would've laughed at this guy's pathetic attempts to flirt with her, but now, as Shepherd, she had to maintain a certain degree of fact. Her patience was clearly wearing thin, however, by the way her smile only grew more and more forced.  
  
Finally, she said it: "I'm sorry, John, but I'm just not interested in a relationship with you. Hope you understand."  
  
He didn't, of course. "But why not?"  
  
"I'm just not."  
  
"That's not a reason," he said, pouting like a child denied a toy.  
  
Dezel was _this_ close to giving this creep a good windblast to the gut.  
  
"I'm in a relationship—I'd say that's a good enough reason on its own."  
  
He made a show of peering down at her left hand, and when he looked back up at her, he raised his eyebrows. "You don't have a ring on your finger—you can't be _that_ taken."  
  
_A ring?_  
  
"I'm sorry you think so lowly of my ability to make a commitment," Rose said coldly. "Now, if that's all, I must be going."  
  
"But—"  
  
"See you later." She swiftly turned away, and Dezel followed. Fortunately, it seemed John had finally taken the fucking hint, because he stayed rooted in place.  
  
"Motherfucker," Rose said as soon as they were out of earshot. "Thanks for not getting involved, even though you clearly wanted to. Almost saw steam coming out of your ears." She grinned.  
  
He grimaced. "Am I really that transparent?"  
  
"Only to me," she said, reaching up to tweak his nose, and laughing when he wrinkled it. "We better get back. Ugh, we were already running late, and now with that moron holding us up ..." She finished with a sigh.  
  
"Hey, Rose?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"What did he mean when he said you didn't have a ring?" It vaguely struck him of something he'd heard of human culture, but for the life of him he couldn't remember what it meant.  
  
"Oh—he just meant that I'm not married. It's customary for married couples to exchange rings, that's all."  
  
"I see."  
  
_Marriage_ , he thought.  
  
And thought some more, hours later after they'd gone to bed. He'd occasionally noticed humans glancing surreptitiously at Rose's hand whenever she told them she was in a relationship, but before now he'd never connected the two.  
  
Marriage. It was a concept humans place much importance on, and until this very moment, he hadn't thought much of it—he'd had no reason to. But now that the seed was planted in his mind, he couldn't pull it out.  
  
He and Rose both knew they were in it for the long haul. They were utterly committed to each other, and a pair of rings couldn't make stronger what they already had. But Dezel realized the significance of the rings: the symbol of an unbreakable bond between two souls. And when he connected that concept to what he and Rose had, it just seemed ... right. Strange, but right.  
  
Except for one problem: he had no idea how to actually go about _getting_ married. He didn't even know if a marriage between a human and a seraph were possible, but he thought he wanted to try. But even as she'd briefly mentioned it, Rose hadn't given any sign of wanting marriage for them, so he didn't know how to proceed.  
  
It was one peaceful evening, when they sat on a veranda overlooking Ladylake, that the question burned in his mind more than ever. They were alone, sharing an easy silence, simply enjoying the comfort of each other's company, his arm around her shoulders and her head resting on his own.  
  
He blurted it out. "Hey, Rose ... would you ever consider marrying me?"  
  
Her brow furrowed slightly. After a moment she leaned away from him, turning to stare dubiously at his face.  
  
"Sorry," he said, all too aware of how his cheeks were burning. "It's a stupid idea. Forget I said anything." If he were an earth seraph, he'd have the earth beneath him open up and swallow him whole.  
  
Suddenly she smiled and leaned back against him, nestling closer into his shoulder. "I'd totally consider marrying you."  
  
He found himself quite unable to speak.  
  
The work, he realized, was only getting started. Now that he'd gotten her blessing to go forward, he'd have to begin his research.  
  
But he wouldn't ask anyone about it. He wanted his intentions to be secret. Most of all, he didn't want to embarrass himself with such a sensitive subject; this was between him and Rose and no one else.  
  
First he looked through some books on human laws, to see just what marriage entailed. Nothing particularly jumped out at him. He and Rose were basically living like they were married already, sleeping in the same bed, sharing in everything. What was hers was his and vice versa, and they both knew it without having to say it.  
  
But what concerned him now was the proposal, as humans termed it— _how_ he would ask Rose to marry him. He wouldn't find much on that in research books, so he'd have to delve into another kind of book: romance novels. He knew all about them from Lailah, unwillingly of course.  
  
Alisha Diphda had the largest personal library he'd ever seen, at least from a human, and lo and behold, he found a variety of them in a little nook off to the side. Alisha told him he could borrow any books he wanted. He didn't tell her his true intentions, of course, and he made damn sure to keep them out of sight when anyone else was around. He didn't need people getting ideas about him.  
  
But what he read in those novels made him a little hopeless. Without fail, at the end when the man proposed, it was always part of a grand romantic gesture featuring a flowing, heartfelt speech.  
  
Something Dezel was decidedly _not_ good at. He hated talking about feelings. Rose did, too—it was part of the reason they got along so well with each other, their mutual distaste for sentimentality. He loved it about her.  
  
When the time came, he was certain she'd laugh in his face when he brought up his feelings.  
  
He arranged for a discreet earth seraph to forge him an engagement ring, telling him only that it was to be a gift for the Shepherd. With that out of the way, all that was left to do was simply propose.  
  
Still, he stalled. No time seemed the right time to bring it up. He was waiting for something, he told himself—waiting for what?  
  
Without warning, the perfect opportunity presented itself. Rose had received a report that a group of mercenaries had taken residence at the Tintagel Ruins, and she had reason to want to check it out, though what that reason was Dezel didn't know. All he knew was that it would be just the two of them, since she planned on leaving her Sub Lords behind.  
  
Dezel immediately recognized the ruins' significance: it was the first place Rose had set her eyes on him. In most romance novels, the man orchestrated the proposal so that it took place somewhere significant to the couples' relationship. It was a good opportunity—the perfect one, maybe. He'd be a fool to miss this chance to get the damn thing over with already.  
  
When they arrived at the ruins on a rainy afternoon, they found that the reports had been false: not a soul but the two of them were present. Since the weather was so inclement Rose suggested they stay at least until it stopped raining, and Dezel couldn't refuse.  
  
So they explored, and reminisced, and as time went on Dezel's nervousness only grew more pronounced.  
  
They stood in the exact spot that Rose had first seen Dezel, and although neither of them mentioned that fact, Dezel knew she was thinking about it.  
  
_Fuck it_ , he thought.  
  
"Rose." He turned to her, took her hands into his own—her beloved hands, callused from all her hard work, yet so small—and knelt on one knee before her, feeling like a fool all the while. His mind went blank—he knew he had to spill his feelings, make a speech, sweep her off her feet, but any mental preparations he'd made had fled. After a few uncomfortable moments he pulled the ring out and said, his voice hoarse, "Will you marry me?"  
  
Rose barked out a laugh, and at that moment Dezel wanted to die, but then she reached into her pocket and produced a ring—a silver band to Dezel's gold.  
  
"I thought you'd never ask," she said, chortling. "You were taking so damn long, I thought I'd put you out of your misery and propose myself." She pulled him to his feet. "That was actually the reason we came here—I made the story about the mercenaries up."  
  
Dezel swallowed thickly. "Does ... does that mean you say yes?"  
  
She threw her arms around him. "Yes, you idiot. I'll marry you."


End file.
